Võ Văn Thưởng

Võ Văn Thưởng (born 13 December 1970) is a Vietnamese politician serving as the President of Vietnam since 2023, being the youngest person to serve in this position since the country's reunification. As the country's head of state, Thưởng is the second highest official in Vietnam after Nguyễn Phú Trọng, the general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam.
He is currently a member of the Politburo and served as the Executive Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) from 2021 until 2023. He is also a member of the 15th National Assembly of Vietnam. He was the head of Central Propaganda Department of the Communist Party of Vietnam from 2016 to 2021, a deputy standing Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee; Secretary of the Quang Ngai Party Committee; standing Secretary and First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union, and Chairman of the Vietnam Youth Federation. He is the youngest standing member of the Secretariat of the Party Central Committee in the history of the Communist Party of Vietnam.
Thưởng is a member of the Communist Party of Vietnam, holding a Master's degree in philosophy and an advanced degree in political theory. He was a member of the 12th and 14th National Assembly of Vietnam, and a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam since 2011. He is also regarded as a close ally of Nguyễn Phú Trọng.
Background and education
Võ Văn Thưởng was born on 13 December 1970 in Hải Dương, Democratic Republic of Vietnam. His family left the South during the Vietnam War. He was born and raised in the North. In 1988, he majored in Marxist-Leninist Philosophy at the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Ho Chi Minh City. In 1992, he graduated with a Bachelor of Philosophy in Marxism-Leninism. After that, he pursued a master's degree in philosophy at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City, and received a Master of Philosophy in 1999. On 18 November 1993, he was admitted to the Communist Party of Vietnam and became an official member on 18 November 1994. He also attended courses at the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics, receiving an advanced degree in political theory.
Career
Early career
University career
In 1992, the year he graduated from university, he was elected as Deputy Secretary of the Youth Union of the General University of Ho Chi Minh City. In 1993, he became the Vice Head of the Professional University Committee of the Ho Chi Minh City Youth Union. In October 1996, he was elected to the Standing Committee of Ho Chi Minh City Youth Union, and held the position of Head of Professional University Committee of Ho Chi Minh City Youth Union.
Communist Youth Union
In October 1995, he continued to work for the Youth Union, while concurrently holding the position of Vice Chairman and General Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Students' Association, a newly established body, and Secretary of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Students' Association. On 26 November 1997, at the National Youth Union Congress, he was elected a member of the 7th Central Committee of the Youth Union. He was assigned to be a Party member, Secretary of the Personnel Committee of the Ho Chi Minh City National University Union. In January 2000, he became the Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Students' Association for the second term and was elected Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Students' Association. In May 2001, he took office as Deputy Secretary of Ho Chi Minh City Youth Union. In November 2002, he was appointed Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Youth Union. In March 2003, he was the Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Youth Federation and was elected to be a Member of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee from October 2003. He held this position until 2004, succeeded by Tat Thanh Cang.
From 8 to 11 December 2002, at the National Youth Union Congress in Hanoi, Võ Văn Thưởng was elected a member of the Standing Committee of the Central Committee of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union. In December 2004, Võ Văn Thưởng was appointed Secretary of the Party Committee of District 12, Ho Chi Minh City. On 24 April 2006, at the National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam, he was elected as an alternate member of the 10th Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam. In October 2006, he was appointed by the Politburo to be the Standing Secretary of the Central Committee of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union. He was also elected as First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union, succeeding Dao Ngoc Dung in January 2007. In December 2007, he was elected as the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union in the 9th Congress of the Youth Union, as well as the Chairman of the National Committee on Youth of Vietnam. On 29 February 2008, at the 5th Conference of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Youth Federation, Võ Văn Thưởng was elected as the 5th President of the Vietnam Youth Federation.
Provincial career
Võ Văn Thưởng was elected as a member of the 5th Ho Chi Minh City People's Council (term 1999 – 2004). In July 2007, he was elected as a member of the 12th National Assembly (2007–2011) in Vinh Long province.
On 18 January 2011, at the 11th Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam, Võ Văn Thưởng was elected as a full member of the 11th Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam (2011–2016). In August 2011, he was assigned by the Politburo to hold the position of Secretary of the Quang Ngai Provincial Party Committee.
On 15 April 2014, he became the Vice Standing Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee, 9th tenure (2010–2015), replacing Nguyen Van Dua, also a former Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Youth Union. On 17 October 2015, he was re-elected as Vice Standing Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee.
Entering national politics
On 26 January 2016, at the 12th National Party Congress, Võ Văn Thưởng was elected a member of the 12th Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam. On 27 January 2016, he was elected to the Politburo by the 12th Central Committee, the youngest member of the 12th Politburo, at the age of 46. On 4 February 2016, he resigned from the position of Permanent Deputy Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee, resigned from the Standing Committee of the City Party Committee, and was instead assigned by the Politburo to become a member of the Secretariat of the Communist Party of Vietnam, and hold the position of Head of the Central Propaganda Department of the Communist Party of Vietnam. On 22 May 2016, he was elected as a member of the 14th National Assembly (2016–2021) in constituency No. 01 of Dong Nai province including Bien Hoa city and districts: Long Thanh, Nhon Trach, with 676,517 votes, or 68.41% of total valid votes.
Standing Secretaryship
On 30 January 2021, at the 13th National Party Congress, he was elected as a full member of the 13th Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam. On 31 January, at the first plenum of the 13th Party Central Committee, he was elected to the Politburo of the 13th Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam. On 6 February, he was appointed the standing secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee's Secretariat.
Presidency
On 2 March, the National Assembly passed a resolution on Thursday morning to elect Võ Văn Thưởng as Vietnam's new president under CPV General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng, replacing Nguyễn Xuân Phúc who resigned due to corruption scandals. He became Vietnam's youngest president since its reunification. On 23 April 2023, he became the President of the Vietnam Red Cross Society Thưởng is considered as a close ally of general secretary Trọng, having risen under the anti-corruption campaign pursued by Nguyễn Phú Trọng.
Internal
Order of the President
Ordinance on Sanctions of Administrative Violations in the field of state audit.
Order on the publication of 8 Laws passed by the 15th National Assembly at the 5th Session: Law on Prices; Civil Defense Law; Law on cooperatives; Act to protect the interests of consumers; Law amending and supplementing several articles of the Law on People's Public Security; Law on Electronic Transactions; Law on Bidding; Law amending and supplementing several articles of the law on exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens and the law on entry, exit, transit and residence of foreigners in Vietnam.
Opinions of the Court
On March 27, 2023, Võ Văn Thưởng had a working session with the leaders of Supreme People's Court. He emphasized that building a judicial procedure institution with trial centered, litigation is a breakthrough: ''No matter how much science and technology develops, it cannot replace bravery and brain, the heart of the judge, the people's juror during the trial, because the object of the court's trial is human"', he said. On July 14, 2023, Thưởng appointed Nguyen Hong Nam as Judge of the Supreme People's Court.
Foreign Affairs
2023
On April 3, Governor General of Australia David Hurley and his wife had a visit to Vietnam at the invitation of President Vo Van Thuong, Hurley's visit is the first state visit by a foreign head of state to Vietnam in 2023 and the first state guest that Thưởng is in his new position.
On May 4, Vo Van Thuong traveled to the United Kingdom to attend the coronation of Charles III and Coronation of Charles III and Camilla on May 6, 2023.
On June 22, at the invitation of President Vo Van Thuong, President of South Korea Yoon Suk-yeol and his wife visited Vietnam. This is Mr. Yoon's first visit to Vietnam and Vietnam is also the first Southeast Asian country that Yoon has visited. The visit brought many special marks in the first year the two countries implemented the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
On 11 September, U.S. president Joe Biden traveled to Vietnam, with the Vietnamese government upgrading the relationship between the countries to that of a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
Note
References
1970 births
Living people
Vietnamese politicians
Presidents of Vietnam
Members of the 12th Politburo of the Communist Party of Vietnam
Members of the 13th Politburo of the Communist Party of Vietnam
Members of the 12th Secretariat of the Communist Party of Vietnam
Members of the 13th Secretariat of the Communist Party of Vietnam
Alternates of the 10th Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam
Members of the 11th Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam
Members of the 12th Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam
Members of the 13th Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam
People from Hải Dương province